Charlize Theron opens up about being “hit hard with depression”

Actress Charlize Theron has revealed how her mental health suffered for her latest role in the highly anticipated film, Tully.

From shaving her head for Mad Max: Fury Road and gaining weight for Monster, actress Charlize Theron is no stranger to an on-screen transformation.

But her dedication to her work sometimes comes at a cost – especially for her latest role in Tully.

Theron, who plays the character of Marlo, a mum of three, had to gain 50 pounds (three and a half stone) to get into character. While the first few weeks of eating everything and anything was “fun”, Theron admits that it began to take its toll.

“I would literally wake up at two in the morning and I’d have a cup of cold macaroni and cheese just next to me. I would wake up and I would just eat it…I would just, like, shove it in my throat. It’s hard to maintain that weight,” explains Theron.

The film, directed by Jason Reitman and written by Diablo Cody, follows the life of a struggling single mother, who’s days away from giving birth to her third child.

The Oscar-winning actress – who’s starred in films such as Atomic Blonde and The Italian Job – discovered that consuming so much sugar and unhealthy foods left her struggling with her mental health.

“I wanted to feel what this woman felt, and I think that was a way for me to get closer to her and get into that mindset. You know, it was a huge surprise to me,” says Theron.

“I got hit in the face pretty hard with depression. Yeah, for the first time in my life I was eating so much processed foods and I drank way too much sugar. I was not that fun to be around on this film.”